Dante vs. Bayonetta: The Witch Dances with the Devil Chapter 16

A few moments pass. Rubble of the ruined building begins to move and shift. A piece of the second floor is tossed aside as a familiar silver-haired figure rises out of the wreckage of wood and brick. Dante takes a moment to collect himself before casually strolling to the street, dragging Rebellion lazily behind him. Once in the middle of the street, he jabs the sword into ground and begins patting the dust and pieces of plaster from his clothes and hair. He peeks over at the building he crashed through taking notice that it was a dry cleaner. He chuckles at the irony. Dante looks around the town. All the buildings were run down. A lot of them had boards where the windows and doors once were. Others were half demolished and left hung open like a rotting wound. A clothing store in the distance, once beautiful in its time, is now a ruined husk, much like the other stores and shops and homes that made up this community. Dante can also see the remnants of the tragedy that occurred here.

Demons ran through the small community years ago, terrorizing the residents here. Dante was called to eradicate the demonic menace. He succeeded. Or so he thought. When he returned a few days later, it wasn’t to the bright smiling faces of a bustling community. No, the scene he returned to was of horror. The town had been completely stripped of its glory, leaving behind a decadent shell. The demons, soon after Dante left, returned to finished what their brethren had started. The slaughtered every person in sight. That’s when Dante discovered the town was a nexus to the Underworld. The only way for him to bring the people peace was to eliminate the new brood of demons and close the portal.

A tragedy such as that would shake even the strongest will, but not Dante. However, he is not without sentiment. He returns to the cemetery nearby from time to time to pay his respects and with good reason. The cemetery contains the residents of the town. Dante is the one who buried them. It was one of his first jobs as a Devil Hunter. He never forgot that tragedy. A tragedy he could’ve prevented.

“Daydreaming, are we?” Bayonetta said coyly.

Dante comes back to reality, remembering his current situation. Like everything else in his past, he has suppressed this town and its tragic event deep in his mind. He’s not one to dwell on the past. Why worry about something that’s already occurred? Flashing Bayonetta a grin, Dante reassures her that his mind is still on her. “Nah, not really. Just thinking about something,” he says.

“Heh, funny you should mention that. I was just wondering how our date will end,” Dante said as he takes hold of Rebellion.

“Well the night is still young. So let’s make the most of it, darling,” Bayonetta says while taking a stance.

“As you wish, madam,” Dante replied with a bow.

He then takes off like a jet at Bayonetta, both sword and smile drawn brightly. Bayonetta quickly blocks with one of her clunky yet elegant guns. She does the same with her other gun. The vivacious witch effortlessly batted away Dante’s strikes with her pistols. Graceful and elegant is how she moved. Swiping an arm upward knocked away an overhead strike. A quick pirouette took Bayonetta out of harm’s way and a perfectly placed handgun stops Rebellion when Dante came at her with a backswing. Dante spins and slashes the massive blade from a different angle. Bayonetta whacks the sword aside and lashes out a fierce kick. Dante’s grip keeps Rebellion in his hand as he steps back from the witch’s swinging leg. He quickly jerks his head and shoulders to one side to avoid the point-blank shot fired from the gun on Bayonetta’s heel. Coming around with another kick, Bayonetta lets loose another round. Thanks to his superhuman reflexes Dante hops to his right to save from being shot in the gut. He rushes at the witch; his coat tails trailing behind him. The Son of Sparda carves the air with a powerful swing. Bayonetta thought about blocking with her gun but opted for conjuring a magical fist made of hair once she noticed the strength Dante was putting behind his swing.

Dante pressed another strike and another and another. He hacked and slashed with Rebellion. The sword sang through the air in tune with its master’s macabre dance. Upward slashes. Carving slices. Amazing thrusts. Dante commanded the sword with ease, flicking the massive blade around as if its weight is no more than a feather. An ordinary man would have his arms separated at the shoulder just from lifting the Devil Arm. Dante is anything but ordinary. He swings his trusty weapon down hard only the have it knocked back, yet he maintains amazing control as he spun around for a second strike.

Bayonetta defends well with Scarborough Fair–her guns. Parsley, Sage, Thyme and Rosemary are the names of her weapons. Like Ebony and Ivory–Dante’s guns, Scarborough Fair are endowed with magical properties that enhance Bayonetta’s powers the same as Dante with his guns. The guns are made of a special alloy which makes them able to withstand Dante’s onslaught. Scarborough Fair knocks back and repels Rebellion’s attacks with Bayonetta’s beckoning. Soon, gun shots began to mix with the sound of clanging metal.

Strike. Dodge. Back slash. Duck. Dante’s reflexes are thrown into overdrive. Each strike of his blade is met with a counter shot from a gun aimed no more than a foot from the tip of his nose. He faced many strong opponents before, from his long-lost brother to a young whelp he met a few weeks ago. Skillful fighters they were, but Dante managed to best them. This time may be a little different, for his current opponent is displaying abilities that match, if not possibly rival his own. However, that’s not say he’ll be defeated.

Bayonetta is no stranger when it comes to facing powerful opponents. Heaven offered her plenty of angels to test her abilities but all were no more than fodder to the Umbra Witch until she encountered the high level deities. Even then she regarded them with coy. Fighting strong opponents always brought her pleasure. Fighting Dante will bring her that pleasure. Bayonetta presses an attack of her own after batting away Rebellion. Following up with two more strikes, she has Dante back peddling a bit before coming up with a fast rising strike that deflects Dante’s sword above his head. A well placed shot from Parsley, the gun in her left hand, dislodges it from his grasp. She quickly delivers a powerful kick to Dante’s gut before he takes action. Bayonetta’s strong sleek leg sends the Devil Hunter skidding on his back. With a kick of his heels, Dante shoots back up to his feet. However his moment of relief is short lived. As Rebellion falls from the sky, Bayonetta sweeps one leg up, lines her shot and fires, striking the sword’s skull adorned hilt and sending it screaming through the air. The lengthy blade skewers Dante through the chest. A shot to the head, from Rosemary, the gun in her right hand, knocks him onto his back. Dante lay dead in the street.